That's the name of the new church that Jim and I are a part of planting!!! It's located in the historic downtown area of our small community. The church was actually birthed out of a desire to reach out to people in need. A core group of us really have a desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We have started by feeding people on Thanksgiving Day for the past couple of years. But the fire in us that God has kindled is not satisfied with mediocre worship of HIM. We want more!! We want to give all we have to serve the one who gave Himself for us.
This has been in the works for a couple of months. Praying and planning, but this week we started the actual work in the building!! It had once been a department store, beginning somewhere around 1948. I'm not sure what it has been over the years since, but the last business was a t-shirt shop that also fixed computers. The building was dirty, and littered with junk. Once some of that was cleared we began tearing down all the make-shift walls. Finally, after many hours of work, we had gutted the building. Yesterday some of the guys began reconstructing a few walls so we can have a nursery for our first service this Sunday.
Even though the building is a mess, we are the only ones to see if for now. We can close the doors that lead from the "foyer" area to the sanctuary and no one sees that the walls are three different colors or that the floor needs carpet. But the foyer area was what has been bothering me. It looks hideous!!!! As one friend stated, "It looks like Dracula's den." The walls are painted red and black and it just looks terrible. This also happens to be the area that everyone sees as they walk by. Not a pretty site!!!!
There are a couple of us who have been dreaming of what that space can look like. We have envisioned some sort of hard wood flooring with chocolate and cream walls. This area will serve as our coffee area for Sunday services, but we would also like to eventually open it as a coffee shop ministry. Anyway, this is one area that I really wanted to start working on because everyone can see it from outside. So I began to pray. I have prayed for three or four days that God would provide the paint needed. I specifically asked that He just show up and make it clear that it came from HIM!!
So in expectation of HIS provision we began picking out paint colors. Wednesday night we selected the colors we wanted. Still I continued to pray. Then today, a friend and I went to the local hardware store for another project. While we were in there she began to tell about what we were doing across the street. (It just so happens that behind some shelves we tore down we found this family name painted on the wall as one of the builders.) So she asks the guy can they help us out with some paint. He kinda turns and looks at the other guy with him. She then says, "You know, maybe give us a good price or something." He then says that just this morning they were talking about some paint they needed to do something with. They were wondering what to do!!!
It was all I could do not to just bust out with hoopin' and hollerin'!!! I looked at my friend and said, "You know I have been praying for paint." My God supplies!!!
So we are all excited and are calling all the other folks to tell them how God had provided!!! Then someone asks, "What color is it?" Uh, we don't know, it's whatever color God had picked out. So then the hardware guy stops by later this evening to give us an estimate on how much paint we might need. He tells us that the paint can't be white. It is going to have to be tan or something in that family. Um, I think chocolate is in that family. Yes, my GOD not only provided the paint, HE gave us the color too!!!!!! My God thinks of everything!!!
Anyway, that little story has given me a huge TING!!! I am over the moon with praising God for HIS blessings. Won't you praise HIM with me!!!
Check back later for more God stories!!!
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